A queue that stretched beyond the Holywell’s smart new railings, and the turning away of some unlucky punters, could only mean one thing: Jack Gibbons was back in his spiritual home, and as always people were flocking to see one of Oxford’s most famous musical sons in action.

Incredibly, this is Jack’s 23rd summer season at the Holywell, and he kicked off on Sunday with an evening showcasing some of Beethoven’s most popular piano sonatas — the C minor (Pathétique), C sharp minor (Moonlight), F minor (Apassionata) and the lovely two-movement Sonata in E Minor, written for Count Moritz Lichnowsky on the eve of his marriage. This was interspersed with his usual entertaining and informative commentary. Poignantly, he reminded us that by the time Beethoven wrote some of his most brilliantly creative works, he was already suffering from increasing deafness.

As I’ve noted before, Gibbons displays an extraordinary empathy with the composer; there is never a feeling that this is a man playing someone else’s music, as he takes complete ownership of it, and you feel sure that the emotions he expresses so vividly and so assertively are exactly those of the composer.

A surprise addition to the programme was a small sample of Gibbons’s own music — a nod to the fact that he has recently been appointed artist-in-residence at the Davis and Elkins College in West Virginia, which is for Gibbons the fulfilment of a long-held dream. Sadly, this does mean that his Oxford season next year is likely to be curtailed, so catch him while you can! Advance booking is advisable, to avoid being one of the disappointed ones who gets turned away.

Jack returns to the Holywell tonight with an evening of Gershwin, followed on Sunday by the first of two Chopin programmes. The season continues with Mozart, Bach, Liszt and Alkan, ending on August 25 with the traditional Farewell Piano Party. For full details, visit www.jackgibbons.com